Ultimate Entrance to Metaverse
In 2021, imaginative mankind was again fantasizing about the possibility that they could one day live, entertain and work freely in the Metaverse - a continuous and decentralized online 3D virtual world.
Where is the entrance to the Metaverse? Many sci-fi fans will give a answer without hesitation: the brain-computer interface (BCI). Using traditional media such as smartphone, computer and VR/AR devices, people have already been able to explore the virtual world freely. However, the barrier still remain. To realize free interaction and multi-sensory real-time feedback in the Metaverse, a new technology is needed to completely break the barriers between virtuality and reality.
The BCI is such a revolutionary technology. By encoding and decoding the brain signals, the brain-computer interface builds a entrance between the brain and external devices, between virtuality and reality. To cross this thresholt and explore the Metaverse, you firstly need a navigation map to explore the brain.
Accurate Navigation in Brain
Accurate Navigation in Brain
"The brain atlas has long been an vital means to study the structure, functions and diseases of the brain. To connect brain with computer, one needs to know how the brain works. This requires an accurate brain atlas to navigate complex brain research," explained research professor Zhang Xu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the leaders of the "Chinese Brain Atlas Research Innovation Platform Project".
More than 100 years ago, German neuroscientist Korbinian Brodmann drew the first map of the human cerebral cortex, which provided a basic reference for future generations to understand the active areas and structure of the brain. However, due to technical limitations, this "map" did not clearly divide the functional sub-areas of the human brain, lacked accuracy, and was not in full match with the latest anatomical and functional data.
With the rapid development of brain image data acquisition equipment and technologies represented by high-field magnetic resonance, China has listed brain science as a forward-looking and strategic national major science project. Various countries have also accelerated brain project research.
Global Research Platform
In 2018, Zhangjiang Lab's Brain and Intelligent Technology Research Institute and UIH served as the lead organizations to officially kick start the China Brain Atlas Research Innovation Platform Project, in partnership with four top research institutions in China: Shanghai Jiaotong University, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, and the Second Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University's Medical School.
Consisting of an international advanced "multimodal brain imaging equipment platform" and a "human brain atlas data service platform", this project aims to provide key technical support for scientists to plot brain atlas and build a big database. The equipment platform of the project is based on a series of research facilities independently developed by UIH, including the world's first 5.0T ultra-high field MR, international advanced high-performance 3.0T MR, integrated PET/MR, and advanced brain function research application and post-processing software, while the data service platform establishes a set of standardized brain atlas analysis processes with the help of UIH's intelligent AI technology.
In September 2020, the "China Brain Atlas Research Innovation Platform" was officially launched. Zhang Xu said: "The newly launched platform is internationally advanced, with its own characteristics. This is of great significance for establishing higher quality and more accurate brain atlas and making new discoveries in brain research."
In the future, doctors and scientists will be able to capitalize on the expanding brain atlas data to carry out a series of research and exploratory activities centering around brain health, brain development and brain aging, achieve the early diagnosis and lesion prediction of various major brain diseases such as childhood autism disorder, adult depression and senile degenerative diseases, as well as the implementation and evaluation of new personalized therapies.
With the help of the brain atlas as a "navigator", clinical staff can turn themselves into "explorers" in frontier research fields, open a magic channel to the Metaverse.